TBILISI, Georgia — An eight-day camp in the Caucasus Mountains to learn German may not sound like much of a vacation to some Americans. But for the young Georgians ages 12 to 23 who participated in the camp this summer, it could mean an edge in their economic future.
A tent below a wooded mountain housed the German language camp sponsored by Baptists in Austria, Georgia and Virginia.
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The project was a collaboration of Baptist bodies in the former Soviet republic and Austria and funded in part by Virginia Baptists. It was similar to English-language camps Virginia Baptists have held around the world in recent years.
Holding a language camp in Lagodechi in eastern Georgia had been agreed upon during a visit of two leaders of the Evangelical Baptist Church of Georgia, a union of 72 congregations and about 5,000 members. Bishop Merab Gaphrindashvili and Bishop Ilia Osephashvili discussed the project with Austrian Baptists during a visit to Vienna in early 2010. Four Baptist students from the University of Vienna then agreed to spend their vacation as language teachers. The Baptist Union of Austria has 25 congregations and about 1,400 members.
Georgian Baptist leaders hand-picked the participants for the unusual project. Twenty-seven children and young adults already learning German in school were eventually chosen. Since language instruction in Georgia has been strictly teacher-centered learning in a traditional classroom setting, these language instructors broke new frontiers with their camp in a recreational zone at the foot of the Caucasus Mountains.
The instructors — all women — sang German songs with their pupils, played with them and engaged in conversation. Bishop Osephashvili told European Baptist Press Service that participants reacted to such “interactive learning” with great enthusiasm. He noted that not only Baptists had been invited to the camp — 12 Georgian youths without any previous contact with Baptist congregations also attended. They too took part in meditations and worship services during the course of the camp and showed interest in Christianity.
In fact, enthusiasm was so great that participants pleaded with the instructors to return in a year and resume teaching.
The instructors’ travel costs were covered by the Virginia Baptist Mission Board; costs on location were covered by Georgian Baptists. The project was also supported by the inter-confessional Christus-Treff (Christ Club) in the German university city of Marburg, which has had close ties with the Georgian denomination for years.
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Klaus Rosler is editor of the European Baptist Press Service.